In the early 1980's, campus-wide computer networks were being installed principally by universities to enable communication and the sharing of computer resources between various departments. The networking technology available at that time, and the scope of deployment, were both limited and relatively unsophisticated.
Today, the deployment and maintenance of “enterprise” networks (i.e., existing across multiple domains—e.g., geographical, functional, managerial) occurs on a much grander scale. The enterprise still consists of network devices, transmission media, computers, and software applications, but there are many more of them and they are considerably more complex and difficult to manage. Furthermore, enterprises are connected with other enterprises via the Internet and third-party backbones, and applications are distributed over all of these. Most global business entities, in addition to large universities, now employ such sophisticated enterprise networks. Electronic commerce (EC) providers are creating similarly complex global networks, known as “Web server farms,” on which industries install their Web sites. Industries have to be assured that their customers can always access their Web sites, that performance will be reasonably good, and that customer transactions are secure. Management of such distributed Web server farms is yet another example of the complexities of enterprise management today. Internet service providers also need to manage and provide customers with access to global networks on a 24-hour a day basis.